What’s in a name?

Well, when it comes to the sea between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, a history of colonization and oppression by one country on another.

The Japanese call the body of water the “Sea of Japan,” and they claim it’s been that name before the 20th century, citing maps from the 19th century. South Koreans, however, argue that the name is a remnant of Japan’s imperial past, and they too point out maps from the same period that have it labeled as the “Oriental Sea,” “Sea of Korea” or “East Sea.”

While diplomats on both sides try to reach some agreement, most newspapers and map publishers in the United States, including the Washington Post and Rand McNally, have decided to stay out of this fray by printing both the “Sea of Japan” and “East Sea” when referencing the region, either in a story or on a map. One major media outlet that continues to just print the “Sea of Japan”: the Los Angeles Times, which covers the region with the highest number of Korean Americans in the United States.

Does this not sit well with you? Then you could write an e-mail to the Los Angeles Times at letters@latimes.com, with something along these lines drafted by Dynamic Korea, a quasi-South Korean government agency:

Dear Editor,
I am compelled to discuss the issue of how your publication uses the geographical name the “Sea of Japan” for the body of water that lies between the Korean Peninsula and the Japan archipelago. Some argue that the body of water should be referred to as the “East Sea” because of Korea’s location next to it.

It is very difficult to find one name that has been used consistently to identify this body of water. The “United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names” has recommended that countries having a dispute over the name of a shared geographical area should endeavor to seek agreement through consultation. In addition, the world’s most respected publishers and cartographers — such as Rand McNally, National Geographic, CNN, USA Today, the Financial Times and the Washington Post — increasingly refer to it as the “East Sea” or “East Sea (Sea of Japan).”

Therefore, I urge you that both names be used simultaneously whenever your publication refers to this body of water while Korea and Japan try to resolve the dispute over this name.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely yours,
…